70 ASSOCIATION OF ORGANISMS—THE WEB OF LIFE 
locking, so that a very perfect trap is constituted, in which there 
is plenty of room for an average victim, since as the two halves 
move together they become concave towards each other. As in 
the other cases, digestion and absorption complete the tragedy. 
Among the most notorious of carnivorous forms are the widely- 
distributed Pitcher Plants, in which the leaves are hollowed into 
structures which may be described as a combination of lure, pit- 
Fig. 1066.—Venus’ Fly-Trap (Dionwa muscipula) 
fall, and stomach. Such are the species of Mefenthes, which 
range from Madagascar through South Asia and the East Indies 
to the Philippines. In this case the lidded pitchers look some- 
thing like hot-water jugs, and are attractively coloured. The 
way in which they serve their purpose is thus described by 
Kerner (in Zhe Natural History of Plants):— The bright 
pitchers of Mefenthes, visible from afar, are sought, just as flowers 
are, by insects, and probably by other winged creatures as well; 
and this occurs all the more because there is a copious secretion 
